Syncro Horatio's TLR 22X-4 Elite Build

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So, Xmas special race day, with 50 entries - impressive considering how young this club is.

Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I decided to enter 2 classes and stay rushed off my feet. 😅

Track design falls on my shoulders, so here is what I cobbled up:

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The 22x-4 had a new 4.5t motor bolted in - it was no slouch!

The 22X-4 Elite running 4.5 was hitting 52,000 rpm running 23.74 mm/rev, which was 46mph down that 22 metre back straight. 120A current. 🔥

More importantly, the car was working well enough to give me 94% consistency each round.

Sadly, the 4th round of qualifying was cancelled and we went straight into finals. This compromised what I wanted to try in the last round - changing the front tyres.

So - I went ahead and did it anyway - and drove around the change - which was lots more steering. The car was quicker, able to turn inside every car on the track. It obviously worked, because I led the A final for 18 laps out of 27! 🤩

I yielded to 2nd place during lap 19 - I could have practiced my blocking etc but TBH, the dude had more pace than me, so I wanted to try and follow him and attempt to increase my own pace.

My final was 2 laps faster than my qualifying - and still 94% consistency, so the gamble of changing tyres paid off. 👍

Generally in 4WD, you change all 4 tyres to maintain balance. It's sort of the law.

But as I had Azumi's on the rear with just 3 meetings on them, I totally went ahead and replaced worn Cactus Fusion 2 for Shards.

The results:

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If you want to check out the stats, numbers and results for SWRCCC live timing, check out the link below.

https://southwalesrccarclub.liverc.com/results/?p=view_event&id=489622

Merry Christmas people!
 
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Track for racing on 4th January.
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Pits and race monitor.
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22X-4 performed flawlessly, with 2 out of 4 fastest qualifiers, TQ and 1st in the A!

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Scrappy first round was merely a chance to warm up the tyres. 😝
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Getting better! Speed and consistency building with a combination of familiarity with the track and the increasing grip levels.
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So close to a 21 lapper, but a couple of back marker related 'misunderstandings' put me back to 2nd.
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Well, this was a last chance to get a 21 lapper, to guarantee TQ. Sadly, it was another 20 lapper.

Result? TQ - best 2 rounds - I just nabbed pole with 40/10:10.767 (3,2) - 2nd place on 40/10:12.707 (3,4) - just 2 seconds behind. 😅

This set the scene for the final...

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A beautifully clean, consistent run with the top 3 positions separated by just 1.3 seconds - after 21 laps! 🤩

Trusty 22x-4 is a weapon! - 21/5:08.002. Terrific day's racing....😎
 
Well, half way through the SWRCCC Winter championship - I'm happy to report that my 22X-4 Elite is currently 1st overall, which is against the odds TBH. 😅

The 2WD championship is already won by the Team Xray sponsored driver - a terrific result. My B7 was a bit late to that party, but 2nd is wide open....

I'm other news....

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A little piece of RC history - Mike Chapman's Mini Masters 2025 winning Mardave MD24. It has been in our team Xray driver's hands for about a month - but he hasn't got time to race it.

It was offered to me yesterday - a day after I received my brand new MD24, assembled by Chris Wilkinson himself.

Fortunately, the Chapman team car is now in very safe hands with the SWRCCC founder! 😎👌
 
So the SWRCCC winter season draws to a close on the 22nd March with the 6th and final round.

There was a transition from our old decoder over to our new one, along with the live timing software, which resulted in a couple of the rounds being timed non-championship rounds.

The 22X-4 Elite had been on quite a winning streak from October 25 onwards, but in terms of the championship - it was wide open. It all hinged on round 5.

Round 1 had 2-legged finals, where each final essentially counted as a round score. With 6 scheduled rounds and a total of 7 scores - the best 5 were to count.

I missed Round 2 on my travels to Tenerife, so whilst leading with:

R1a 100
R1b 100
R2
R3 98
R4 98

My 5th score would determine the championship in 4WD and could seal the deal!

However - things weren't going to run smoothly for me in championship round 5. In my mind - I just needed something like a top 5 finish and it should be enough.....

The track -

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In the first round, the buggy felt great - with fresh Cactus tyres and Shards up front on new J Concepts Monos - the buggy felt honed and immediately put down the fastest lap....but then the merest clip on this...

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Broke my steering. At first I thought it was just a loose steering horn screw....

But round 2 saw the steering fail completely on the first lap. So suddenly, it didn't even look like I was going to qualify!! 🫤 I needed 2 rounds to get a score, but with just 2 rounds left, there was no longer any wiggle room...

The horn was stripped, so thankfully, my donor car had a 7075 alloy clamping horn which was used to salvage any qualifying hopes I had left!

Round 3 - I had to get a baseline, risk free time - a foundation on which to build. This I did with a comfortable (albeit conservative) 4th place.

Round 4 was balls out, racing on a mission to ensure a decent start for the final. This I did with a fast clean run, hovering in 3rd, then clawing my way into 2nd with 2 laps to go - then onto to first place with a string of fastest laps.

This was enough to secure 3rd place on the grid, which given that I'd halved my qualifying session, was as good as I could possibly had hoped for.

3rd on the grid is sometimes not so bad - especially if the leaders decide to tangle with each other on lap 1! 😝

My 2WD B7 had been performing admirably and consistently, so this gave me the confidence I needed to push the 22X-4 in the final...

2WD stats...

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The 22X-4 was getting fastest laps, so all I needed to do was just keep it clean - string them together - the result would come - and people in front knew I was coming. I immediately got myself into 2nd on the first corner of the first lap. The 2nd placed car tangled with the race leader and unfortunately, the leader came off worst.

Capitalising, I maintained a constant presence - all over the back of the race leader. By lap 7, the pressure paid off and one slightly wide turn resulted in an opportunity to slip by, where I then strung the next 16 laps together to pull out a 3.2 second lead - and the win! 🤩

4WD stats
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Hell yeah!!!! 🤩 It's not how you start - but how you finish. 🤭

So, with this win I grab 100 points and along with it - the SWRCCC 4WD Winter Championship 25/26. 😁

Racing in 2WD and 4WD has been enormous fun and it's extremely rewarding, looking through the stats to see how my driving is not only faster - but around 3-4% more consistent.

The data doesn't lie. Even at my age, you can continue to get better - every day is a school day.

Regardless of your age or background - if you like RC cars and find the idea of racing appealing but have never had the chance to get around to it - find your nearest RC venues and give it a go! Do it!

Even if it's just for a day. You may just find it's one of the most addictive things you have ever done.

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So, how do I rate my ride?

In short - it's as close to perfection as you might find. The 22X-4.1 has been released with gull-wing arms, revised diffs, revised diff housings, 13mm shocks and with the carpet edition having lower towers and shorter chassis. All of which can be used to update the 22X-4.

In a whole season of racing, the extent of broken stuff:
  • Shock shaft
  • 2 spur gears
  • Servo horn
  • Front shock mount screw
My setup isn't exactly typical, but it works for me.
  • Carbon chassis
  • MOD centre driveline
  • Strategic use of titanium
The elite has all titanium turnbuckles and linkages.
Certain screws are titanium but others I prefer to keep to steel for peace of mind.

Option wise, I use weight forward, with centre diff running just 150k diff oil. Works for me. That's still stiff enough to get unintended wheelies if I get over excited with the throttle.
Centre fan only - I've tested with rear fan, both fans and centre fan and my temp logs show centre fan is perfectly fine. It never hurts to save some weight.

Motor 4.5t V10 hobbywing
Battery Gens Redline 5300 140c - these have been punchy and consistent throughout - highly recommended.

ESC - XR10 Pro G3 - simply put - this is a premium, high performance ESC with everything you need. The OTA allows me to setup from my phone. Excellent brakes, punchy and controlled - 10/10 bit of kit.

Servo - AGF A62BHS low profile, fast and torquey - even on 6V

Receiver - vintage R603FS FASST receiver. Solid.

Radio 3VCS running FASST in HRS - this radio is old, but it is an extension of my body - I am at one with it. I have considered getting a new radio, but end up getting new cars instead! 🤭 The 3VCS has a stay of execution for a few reasons, not least because I really like it but also - FASST is still about the most solid link you can get. My model memory has been expanded to allow for another 10 models, using a CAMPAC module which has been made by Mike from Model Radio Workshop. 😁 Clearly, it meets all my needs and still kicks @r$e.

More good news - AGF make RFS04F FASST receivers for it, which weigh just 4g and cost £30!
The issue I had was finding unicorn R603FS receivers, that were regularly selling for £70-90.

This has swayed me to hold off buying a £700 replacement radio. For now.

How do I rank as a driver?

The team Xray guy I regularly race who tends to just pip my lap times - ranked 91st at MKGP, against UK and Europe's best. He is now entering regionals and nationals with F2 rating.

The SWORD and COBRA A finals sees the same chap around 7th or 8th, with the top 5 all with F1 rating.

Sadly, I'm not about to traipse all around the nation to get my F grading - much as I'd love to - I just can't commit to it.

But I know roughly where I'd rank if I did. Humbly, I'll stick to the races within 60 miles of home. 🤭
 
RC addiction and great taste in music and movies

Originally underwold - Born slippy was used at this trainspotting clip. Where is my mind was beyond epic at the ending of fight club
 
The winter series Trophy has been presented at Round 1 of the summer series.

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The 22X-4 Elite has been a flawless buggy and I can't praise it enough. It suited my driving style and is super keen to turn inside every buggy on the track. It's also a complete tank - plus - a good 40g lighter than any other 4WD at SWRCCC.

Perhaps the biggest change for me though....

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I'm now a Team Onyx Power Systems driver. 🤩😎

They certainly delivered - my TLR secured TQ and the win at the first round of the SWRCCC summer series. It was punchy and fast. These packs are 25g lighter, so my B7 will be racing with these very soon. 😎👌

Anyone interested in trying OPS packs? If so - PM me and I can provide you with a code for a discount that cannot be found anywhere else. 💪👌
 
Horatio said:
The winter series Trophy has been presented at Round 1 of the summer series.

View attachment 12510
The 22X-4 Elite has been a flawless buggy and I can't praise it enough. It suited my driving style and is super keen to turn inside every buggy on the track. It's also a complete tank - plus - a good 40g lighter than any other 4WD at SWRCCC.

Perhaps the biggest change for me though....

View attachment 12511
I'm now a Team Onyx Power Systems driver. 🤩😎

They certainly delivered - my TLR secured TQ and the win at the first round of the SWRCCC summer series. It was punchy and fast. These packs are 25g lighter, so my B7 will be racing with these very soon. 😎👌

Anyone interested in trying OPS packs? If so - PM me and I can provide you with a code for a discount that cannot be found anywhere else. 💪👌
Click to expand...
Just saw this from them coincidence 🤷

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Cheers buddy! 🤩 No, it's probably not a coincidence - Chris Gunter just won the SWORD Championship - a very fast National racer.

I've been asked for my Trophy presentation picture, so it might end up on their FB page. 🤭

They're good batteries. 👍

I'll be running them in my B7 very soon....

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Horatio said:
The winter series Trophy has been presented at Round 1 of the summer series.

View attachment 12510
The 22X-4 Elite has been a flawless buggy and I can't praise it enough. It suited my driving style and is super keen to turn inside every buggy on the track. It's also a complete tank - plus - a good 40g lighter than any other 4WD at SWRCCC.

Perhaps the biggest change for me though....

View attachment 12511
I'm now a Team Onyx Power Systems driver. 🤩😎

They certainly delivered - my TLR secured TQ and the win at the first round of the SWRCCC summer series. It was punchy and fast. These packs are 25g lighter, so my B7 will be racing with these very soon. 😎👌

Anyone interested in trying OPS packs? If so - PM me and I can provide you with a code for a discount that cannot be found anywhere else. 💪👌
Click to expand...
Congratulations brother!! That’s awesome!!👍🍻
 
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